When I Began To Run
by The Raggedy Time Traveller
Summary: It's been a week since The Day of The Doctor, and sixteen year old Ginny Parks is settling down to watch the end of The Eleventh Hour, when a crack appears on her TV and sucks her right into the episode! How will Ginny deal with meeting the Doctor in real life? What shenanigans are in for the Time Lord when he meets one of his fans? Read to find out!
1. Introductions

When I Began To Run

Introductions

It had begun as any Saturday for me began. I rose from bed at 10:30, made breakfast, and trudged back upstairs to the Movie Room. All of this was accomplished without interruption because my mother, father, and sister had gone to the mall to get a laptop repaired. I sat on the couch, tucked a stray strand of fiery red hair behind my ear and turned on the TV to BBC America. Doctor Who was on to my pleasant surprise. Well, of course it would still be on! The 50th Anniversary was just last week! The episode in question was a personal favorite of mine; 'The Eleventh Hour'. I don't know why, but Matt Smith has always been my favorite Doctor. Maybe it was because of how quirky he was, or how subtly dark he would get at times that set him apart from the rest for me, but best just to enjoy the episode for now.

In the episode, or what remained of it, the Doctor had just run up to the redecorated exterior of the TARDIS. He was about to say, "What have you got for me this time?" when the screen of my TV went black. I groaned at the inconvenience of the matter and started to exit the room, but the sound of cracking glass stopped me in my tracks. I turned around slowly and almost screamed at the sight before me.

A crack in the universe had sprouted on my TV, and it was seeping time energy.

Now, the logical thing to do would be to run away from it screaming at the top of my lungs, but no. I was a fangirl who had read one to many fanfictions, so I did the illogical. I actually crept closer to the crack until I was facing it head on.

It was the exact shape as the crack in Amy's bedroom wall, but on a smaller scale. It only reached to the edges of the glass, not harming the plastic siding of the TV monitor in any way. And the time energy oozing from out of the jagged hole the crack sent goosebumps up my body.

If the appearance of a fictional crack didn't give me the willies, then a strand of time energy wrapping around my leg did. I screamed for someone to help me, but it was in vain. No one would hear me. Also, apparently my screaming was not appreciated by the crack as the next strand of time energy twisted its way around my mouth, effectively gagging me.

Its pull was strong, and it had already succeeded in taking my legs, but my upper body would not submit without a fight. Reaching for the wooden table under the TV, I found a grip and fought to pull myself back. The crack knew I was fighting and its pull on me intensified. One hand had already slipped from the table, and my grip was failing. Knowing the end was near, I let go and the time energy pulled me in.

Bright white light made it near impossible to see for a few minutes, then it subsided. I was somewhat confused to find myself lying on a glass floor, so I slowly rose to my feet while also taking a look at my surroundings. This time, I did scream at what I saw.

I was inside the Eleventh Doctor's TARDIS, right next to the console if I might add. Why did the crack drop me off here? No idea. But it's safe to say that I wasn't disappointed in my location. I was disappointed; however, in the time of my arrival. Just as I was about to flip a switch on the console, the doors opened, revealing the Doctor himself, complete with a bow tie and tweed jacket. Thinking of nothing better to do, I hid behind the Time Rotor and hoped he wouldn't see me.

"Look at you," he said to the TARDIS, "Oh, you sexy thing. Look at you!" He then ran up to the console and began flipping switches and pressing buttons, sending us into flight. He was walking over to the section of machinery I was hiding under when he tripped over my foot. Falling over in a most spectacular fashion, he managed to catch a glimpse of me. A look of slight annoyance came into his green eyes as he pulled me to my feet.

Now, I kid you not when I say I was terrified. Most Whovians would positively freak out upon meeting a legend such as the Doctor, but I was shaking like a leaf in front of him.

"Who are you and how did you get in my TARDIS?" he asked firmly. I tried to answer, but I found myself absolutely speechless, only able to work up an occasional stutter. I also found myself slowly backing up towards a staircase on the left side of the control deck, and the Doctor also kept walking towards me at an equal pace.

Finally, after a good five minutes of nothing but stuttering, I turned on my heels and sprinted up the staircase and down a series of corridors. The Doctor was right behind me as I could hear his footsteps coming up fast. No matter how many turns and room changes I made, he was always at least five feet behind me. Outrunning the Doctor; that's definitely a new one for me.

By now, I had been running for an fifteen minutes without footsteps behind me, so I took this opportunity to rest in a stray room. What are the odds that said room contains the swimming pool. Now, this swimming pool wasn't just a swimming pool. That would be far too boring. Think of Great Wolf Lodge's indoor water park, only with a spacey wacey theme instead of a log cabin theme.

"That's just showing off," I whispered.

"You think that's showing off, you should check out the library," the Doctor said from behind me. His sudden appearance would have sent me falling to the ground, but he caught me before I lost my footing.

"Careful. It's a bit slippery in here," I joked.

"Really? I hadn't noticed," he joked back, making me less nervous, "Anyways. Back to my question. Who are you and how did you get here?"

I had to stall for a moment in order to come up with a convincing lie to tell him.

"I think it would be rude for me to tell you without introducing myself. My name is Ginny Parks," I said, holding out a hand to shake. He took it a bit reluctantly.

"Pleasure to meet you, Ginny. I'm the Doctor. And now could you answer my other question?" he asked. I looked down at my now wet TARDIS slippers and then back to the Doctor.

"I fell through a crack in my television screen and ended up here. Simple as that," I said, "Well, actually it isn't. You could say I fell through the Void and into your universe from my universe where you and all of your adventures are a television show, but that would be too complicated. Sorry, I'm rambling again. My friends usually stop me when I'm rambling about things I like." He was frowning now. I hated when he frowned on television, and I hate it when he frowns in real life.

"You came from a parallel universe?" he asked. I nodded.

"That's impossible. The universes were sealed off in Canary Wharf," he said.

"Well, they've cracked. Like something else you've seen already, I'm sure," I said as he began looking at me strangely, "Don't look at me like that! I've seen all the episodes at least twice. I pick things up!" He continued on with his looking at me in a very awkward silence until the TARDIS bumped to a landing.

"Ah. We've landed," he mused, "I suppose since you're a fan of mine, there wouldn't be any trouble if you traveled with me. Right?"

My jaw nearly hit the floor. The Doctor just asked me to travel with him, and he barely even knew me. I could've been a psycho alien monster for all he knew, but he still asked me.

"Are you serious?" I asked, "We just met! I literally just popped up in your TARDIS an fifteen minutes ago, ran away from you, and now you're asking me to travel the whole of time and space with you?"

"Yes," he said plainly.

"Why?" I asked.

"You seem like a person who wants an adventure. And you seem like a nice person, not a murderous alien monster," he answered.

"Well then Doctor, it appears you've got a second companion," I said. He grinned, took my hand, and began running to the control room.

We didn't even stop to look at where we landed; we just ran through the doors right onto... the moon. No really. I was standing on the moon without a spacesuit, and it was kind of freaking me out.

"Shouldn't I be suffocating?" I asked.

"I extended the air shield. You're fine," the Doctor said. I sighed in relief, gazing at the barren gray landscape and the black expanse of space.

"We're on the dark side of the moon. Aren't we?" I guessed.

"How did you know?" he asked.

"I don't see the earth in the sky," I said simply. He grinned and ruffled my hair.

"You're a right clever one, Ginny," he complimented, making me smile, "Ready to leave?"

"Yeah. Back to the Pond!" I exclaimed, running back up to the console. He laughed and danced around the controls madly. We landed with a thud, which sent me flying into a jump seat, pulled to my feet and dragged out the front doors into Amy's front garden. She was standing at her doorstep in her nightie looking at the pair of us in wonder.

"Sorry about running off earlier. Brand new TARDIS. Bit exciting!" the Doctor explained, "Just a quick hop to the moon and back to run her in. She's ready for the big stuff now."

"It's you. You came back," Amy muttered, running up to the pair of us, all this time looking at me.

"Course I came back. I always come back. Something wrong with that?" he asked, then looked from Amy to me, "Oh right! You two haven't met, have you? Amy, meet Ginny. She fell through a crack and ended up on my TARDIS."

"Hello," I said shyly.

"Hi," she replied, then turned back to the Doctor, "And you kept the clothes."

"Well, I just saved the world. The whole planet, for about the millionth time, no charge. Yeah, shoot me. I kept the clothes," he replied.

"Including the bow tie," Amy said.

"Yeah, it's cool. Bow ties are cool," the Doctor and I said at the same time, causing him to look at me again. I just smiled sheepishly and rocked back and forth on my heels.

"I think I'll just wait in here until you two are finished," I said, walking back into the TARDIS.

Shuffling up the stairs, I plopped down in a jump seat and looked down at my shoes, running the events of today through my head.

I was in Doctor Who. I, Ginny Parks, fell through a crack between universes and ended up in the world of my favorite TV show. This kind of stuff happened only in really weird fanfictions, not reality! I didn't know whether to be scared, excited, fainting, or doing a small dance around the controls. My thoughts were ceased for awhile when the door opened and Amy stepped in, the Doctor behind her. She stood there for a moment.

"Well, anything you want to say? Any passing remarks?" the Doctor asked her, "I've heard them all." He ran up the stairs and pulled me out of the seat.

"I'm in my nightie," Amy finally stammered.

"Welcome to the club, Pond," I said, gesturing to my flannel pajama pants and "Bow Ties Are Cool" T-Shirt, "I guess we're going on our first adventure in our jim-jams."

"Maybe not, as it would seem. There's plenty of clothes in the wardrobe," the Doctor piped in.

"Not to mention the possibility of a swimming pool, too," I added. He looked at me annoyingly again.

"Stop that!" he whined, which cause me to shake my head and grin.

"I'll just give you two a moment while I go change clothes," I said, excusing myself from the control room and up the stairs.

Upon reaching the wardrobe, which was extravagant to say the least, I found a suitable outfit for Starship UK and went to changing clothes.

As I folded my pajama pants over; however, something made of metal fell out. I looked to the floor to find my Trans Temporal Sonic Screwdriver replica on the floor. Picking it up, I noticed it was heavier than before. It was made of actual metal for the most part, but the part which was representing Future London was made of a substance I can only describe as a combination of metal and plastic. The crystals and emitter had a glassy texture, and upon pressing the button, the wooden door to my dressing room flew open. Okay, so now I have a replica sonic screwdriver that isn't a replica anymore. Cool! I placed it carefully on the table and shut the door again, getting back to changing clothes.

Once I emerged from the wardrobe, I wore jeans, black Chuck Taylors, a maroon and white striped long-sleeve, black leather jacket, and the Doctor Who necklace I got online awhile ago. It was made of pieces of a watch, with a TARDIS on a clear part and "DOCTOR" in all caps on a small rectangular piece of metal too. I had a particular fondness for it.

I skipped merrily back to the control room to find the Doctor and Amy standing in front of the console.

"Amy Pond, you've barely started," the Doctor said, then pointed to me, "And that goes double for you, Parks," he pulled a lever and ran back to the door, "Cause do you know what I keep in here?"

"Yes," I said.

"Well I know you know," he said.

"What?" Amy asked, running down the stairs with me following her. The Doctor turned from the doors to face us.

"Absolutely everything," he answered, opening the doors to a wide expanse of space and starlight, "Anything take your fancy? Either of you?"

While I was smirking and leaning against the doorframe, Amy just stood there, mouth agape in wonder. She turned back to the Doctor.

"We're in space," she said.

"Yep. That's space," he replied.

"But it's... special effects," she assumed, turning from the space back to the Doctor.

"What?" he asked.

"She thinks it's not real," I explained. He looked to Amy again.

"Get out," he said.

"What?" Amy asked again.

"No, seriously. Get out!" he said, then not only shoved Amy out the door, but me as well, which earned a squeal on my part. This was going to be the greatest adventure of my life.

**This is yet another possible story idea for the future. I'm going to let you, the readers, decide which one out of this and TWIK should be continued. Think of these snippits as demos for full things yet to come. If you like one more than the other, I'll write more on that one. Happy Deciding! -The Raggedy Time Traveller**


	2. The Beast Below - Part One

The Beast Below - Part One

I can't fully describe what it's like floating around in space, except for the fact that it's an experience I would never forget. My hair was flaring out in different places, my arms were spread out like wings on a bird, and I could not stop grinning. Neither could Amy, for that matter. And neither could the Doctor, who was holding onto us by our ankles, laughing away.

"Come on, you two!" he called, pulling us back into the TARDIS. He brought Amy down first, on account that I shook my head, meaning that I didn't want to come back in just yet.

"Ginny, you're coming in here whether you want to or not," he said, pulling me in.

"Killjoy," I muttered, getting to my feet, "Anyways, do you believe him now, Amy?" She nodded and turned to the Doctor.

"Okay, your box is a spaceship. It's really, really a spaceship. We are in space! Woo!" she took a deep breath, "What're we breathing?"

"I've extended the air shell. We're fine," the Doctor assured us, then looked down underneath the TARDIS, "Now that's interesting." He proceeded to shut the doors without checking to see if we were inside, which we weren't. Amy and I were hanging onto the sign for dear life.

"Ginny what do we do?" she asked me frantically.

"Just follow my lead," I said, then shouted, "Doctor, open the doors if you want someone to travel with!"

Together, we started yelling for the Doctor at the top of our lungs, and eventually he opened the doors.

"Well, come on. I've found us a spaceship!" he said, pulling us in.

"Took you long enough," I remarked, running up to the big monitor on the wall.

"Well it's not like I could concentrate with you yelling so loudly," he retorted, "Anyways, this is the United Kingdom of Britain and Northern Ireland. All of it, bolted together and floating in the sky."

On the monitor was a ramshackle starship made of steel and different buildings. The buildings were labeled after different places in the UK. I knew what truly lied in the belly of the ship, but I had to hold my tongue in order to prevent a paradox.

"Starship UK," I mused, "Britain, but metal."

"That's not just a ship, that's an idea. That's a whole country, living and laughing and shopping," he smiled, "Searching the stars for a new home."

"Can we go out and see?" Amy asked.

"Course we can. But first, there's a thing," he ran to a cupboard under the console and looked for something.

"A thing?" she asked.

"Yes, a thing. Things are good. Better than plans, if you ask me," I said.

"And a very important thing at that. In fact, Thing One," he held a magnifying glass up to his eye, "We are observers only. That's the one rule I've always stuck to in all my travels. I never get involved in the affairs of other peoples or planets."

"Or you at least try," I added. He looked from me back to the scanner at the console.

"Ooo, that's interesting," he mused, looking at the crying girl on the scanner. She had lost her friend, but I couldn't remember her name. Suddenly, the Doctor ran out the doors, leaving us to look at the screen.

"So we're like a wildlife documentary, yeah? Because if they see a wounded little cub or something, they can't just save it, they've got to keep filming and let it die," Amy said, "It's got to be hard. Don't you find that hard, being all, like, detached and cold?"

No sooner than when the words left Amy's mouth, the Doctor appeared on the screen and tried to console the girl. She got up and ran off.

"Doctor?" Amy asked the screen in surprise. He waved for us to come outside, and we ran out the doors.

Needless to say that Starship UK looked exactly like it's set counterpart. There were vendor carts scattered through London Market, pedicabs made their way through the streets, and people were living their normal lives. Amy stood with her back to the TARDIS as I took a step forward and looked up to the window on the ceiling. Yep. They were real stars glistening in the black expanse of real space. I was speechless.

"I'm in the future. Like hundreds of years in the future," Amy said, a bit breathless, "I've been dead for centuries."

"Oh, lovely. You're a cheery one," the Doctor replied, then faced my starstruck (and I mean that literally) form, "Enjoying the view, Parks?"

I quickly looked away from the ceiling and back to him.

"A bit," I said, smiling sheepishly, "It's just so real and not CGI or TV set. It's a real starship flying through actual space!"

He smiled at me then whisked us through London Market.

"Never mind dead and real, look at this place. Isn't it wrong?" he asked, still grinning.

"What's wrong?" Amy asked.

"Come on, use your eyes. Notice everything. What's wrong with this picture?" he said.

"Is it the bicycles?" Amy guessed, pointing to a passing pedicab, "Bit unusual on a spaceship, bicycles."

"Said the girl in her nightie," I said, paraphrasing the Doctor's line.

"Oh my God, I'm in my nightie!" Amy exclaimed.

"Now, come on, look around you, both of you. Actually look," the Doctor pleaded, then began to ramble as we walked along, "Life on a giant starship. Back to basics. Bicycles, washing lines, wind-up street lamps. But look closer. Secrets and shadows, lives led in fear. Society bent out of shape, on the brink of collapse. A police state. Excuse me."

He ceased his rambling in order to pick up a glass of water from a table and place it on the ground. The water stayed still.

"What are you doing?" the man he took the glass from asked.

"Sorry about him," I said, "His pet fish escaped, and he's checking all the water in this area for him." Of course, this caused the Doctor to look at me incredulously.

"How-" he started.

"This was an episode of the show, and that was one of my favorite lines," I explained. He nodded and placed the glass back on the table.

"Why did you just do that with the water?" Amy asked.

"Don't know. I think a lot. It's hard to keep track. Now, police state. Do you see it yet?" he responded.

"Where?" she asked.

"There," he said, pointing to the girl from before who was still crying. He started to walk closer and we followed.

The three of us sat on an empty bench across from where the girl was sitting.

"One little girl crying. So?" Amy said.

"She's crying silently. When kids cry, it's because they're either hurt or want attention, but when they cry silently it's simply because they can't stop. I would know," I said, recalling the time my cat died and I couldn't stop sobbing, "Also, judging by the way no one is trying to comfort her, it's probably something that happens regularly and they don't talk about it."

"Well, it either happens regularly or it's something they're afraid of. Shadows, whatever they're afraid of, it's nowhere to be seen, which means it's everywhere. Police state," the Doctor added onto my deduction. The girl got up from the bench and walked over to a lift.

"Where'd she go?" Amy asked.

"Deck two oh seven, Apple Sesame block, dwelling 54A. You're looking for Mandy Tanner," the Doctor told us, then handed Amy a colorful wallet, "This fell out of her pocket when I accidentally bumped into her."

"Which time?" I asked.

"The fourth," he said sheepishly, "Ask her about those things. The smiling fellows in the booths. They're everywhere."

"But they're just things," she said.

"They're clean," he replied, "Everything else here is battered and filthy. Look at this place. But no one's laid a finger on those booths. Not a footprint within two feet of them. Ask Mandy, why are people scared of the things in the booths?"

"No, hang on. What do I do? I don't know what I'm doing here and I'm not even dressed!" Amy argued.

"I'll go with you, Amy. I know what to do," I said.

"Excellent," the Doctor said, "Both of you meet me back here in half an hour."

"What are you gonna do?" Amy asked.

"What I always do. Stay out of trouble," he rose from his seat, "Badly." He leaped over the bench and started to walk away when Amy called him down.

"So is this how it works, Doctor? You never interfere in the affairs of other peoples or planets, unless there's children crying?" she said.

"Yes," he replied, and walked off.

The two of us had been in a rather awkward silence until we entered a lift.

"How do you know so much about the Doctor?" Amy asked me, "The way you talk to him; it's almost like you've seen him before." I sighed, knowing this was going to come up sooner rather than later.

"You know how the Doctor told you I fell through a crack in my TV?" I asked, she nodded, "Well, strange as it sounds, I come from a parallel universe where the life of the Doctor and his companions is a Science Fiction show called 'Doctor Who', and I happen to be a major fan of the show."

"So, to you, all of this is just a show on TV?" she asked, I nodded, "Weird, but kind of cool in a way. You must be living your dream right now."

"Yeah, I am," I said, grinning like a madwoman.

We got off the lift and started to make our way down Dean Street when Mandy stopped us from in front of a bin.

"You're following me," she said, "Saw you watching me at the market place." Amy held out the wallet.

"You dropped this," she said.

"Yeah, when your friend kept bumping into me," Mandy replied, taking the wallet back.

"Sorry about him, by the way. He's a bit unaware when it comes to personal space," I apologized.

We followed Mandy towards a striped workman's hut where she abruptly stopped.

"What's that?" Amy asked.

"There's a hole. We have to go back," Mandy replied, like it was an everyday occurrence.

"A what? A hole?" Amy asked.

"Are you stupid? There's a hole in the road. We can't go that way. There's a travel pipe down by the airlocks, if you've got stamps," Mandy explained, "What are you doing?"

"Oh, don't mind me. Never could resist a keep out sign," Amy replied, sitting down at the foot of the tent, "What's through there? What's so scary about a hole? Something under the road?"

"Nobody knows. We're not supposed to talk about it," Mandy said, catching Amy's attention.

"About what?" she asked.

"Below," Mandy answered, sounding a bit frightened.

"And because you're not supposed to, you don't? Watch and learn," Amy said, holding up a hairpin before starting to pick the lock.

"Be careful, Amy," I advised. She nodded and continued with her work.

"You sound American," Mandy told me.

"I am American. And if history repeated itself, I'd say America got their own ship. Am I right?" I asked, Mandy nodded, "I'm Ginny, by the way."

"Your friend sounds Scottish," she told me.

"I am Scottish. What's wrong with that?" Amy piped in, "Scotland's gotta be here somewhere."

"No. They wanted their own ship," Mandy said.

"Good for them. Nothing changes," Amy said.

"So, how did you two get here?" Mandy asked.

"We were just passing through with our friend," I said, "He's still in London Market."

"Your boyfriend?" she assumed.

"Heavens no!" I said.

"Oh," Amy muttered.

"What?" Mandy asked.

"Nothing. It's just, I'm getting married. Funny how things slip your mind," Amy said, laughing slightly.

"Married?" Mandy asked.

"Yeah, shut up, married. Really actually, married. Almost definitely," Amy replied, most likely thinking of Rory.

"When?" Amy asked.

"Well, it's kind of weird. A long time ago tomorrow morning. I wonder what I did," the lock clicked open, "Hey, hey. Result! Coming?"

"No!" Mandy exclaimed, which caused Amy to look at me expectantly.

"I'm sorry, Amy, but you're on your own for this one," I said.

"Suit yourself," she grumbled, and crawled under the tent.

"Stop! You mustn't do that!" Mandy pleaded, but it was too late.

Soon after Amy disappeared under the tent, a group of men in black hooded cloaks formed a semi circle around us. One of them approached me.

"How old are you?" he asked.

"Like I'd tell you," I retorted. Another one held some sort of scanner up.

"She's of age, sir," the other one reported. The first one nodded and held up a ring to my face, which sprayed out a gas. My thoughts grew foggy and my legs gave out from beneath me. One of the men managed to catch me before I fell to the ground, unconscious.


	3. The Beast Below - Part Two

The Beast Below - Part Two

When I had finally managed to come around, I was in a voting cubicle. Blinking some focus into my eyes gave way to a Smiler on the left wall, and Amy was nowhere to be seen. I straightened up in the chair someone had placed me in and looked at the four screens in front of me.

"Welcome to voting cubicle three thirty A. Please leave this installation as you would wish to find it," the computer said, "The United Kingdom recognizes the right to know of all its citizens. A presentation concerning the history of Starship UK will begin shortly. Your identity is being verified on our electoral roll."

Oh great. The presentation about the Star Whale and choosing to protest or forget. Okay. No matter what I see, I've got to choose protest. To ensure this, I stand right in front of the protest button and give no piece of mind to the other two buttons.

"Name, Virginia Clarissa Parks. Age, thirteen hundred. Marital Status, unmarried," the computer reported, accurate as ever.

"Gotta love that 29th century technology," I deadpanned, "I've always wondered what Ginny was short for." A man with white hair appeared on the screen.

"You are here because you want to know the truth about this starship, and I am talking to you because you're entitled to know. When this presentation has finished, you will have a choice. You may either protest, or forget," the man explained.

"If you choose to Protest, understand this. If just one percent of the population of this ship do likewise, the program will be discontinued with consequences for you all. If you choose to accept the situation, and we hope that you will, then press the Forget button. All the information I'm about to give you will be erased from your memory. You will continue to enjoy the safety and amenities of starship UK, unburdened by the knowledge of what has been done to save you. Here then, is the truth about Starship UK, and the price that has been paid for the safety of the British people. May God have mercy on our souls."

Suddenly, a bunch of images began to flash in my head. Children screaming, the earth in burning ruins, the Star Whale coming down to help, the Tower of Starship UK, and that awful device torturing the Star Whale were all there. The presentation finished and left one thought in my mind. No one should live in that kind of agony. My hand slammed down on the Protest button with all my strength.

The Smiler on the wall changed to a Scowler and the floor opened up beneath me. Instinctively, I ran to the corner of the room. Soon, the floor disappeared from underneath my feet and sent me screaming into the Star Whale's mouth.

This was one time when I wish it was just a television show. I slid through a pipe and into a bunch of really gross half eaten food, landing on my back. I couldn't bring myself to stand simply because I was too shocked by the odor of the mouth. When I finally did move, it was in order to not be squished by the Doctor when he came through. I scrambled to my feet and backed up a bit as he arrived.

"Hello again," I greeted, helping him up, "How did bringing down the government go for you?"

"So far it's gone according to plan," he said, "And I'm guessing you chose to protest, judging by the way you're here first." I nodded.

A scream coming from above and a sudden splash signaled that Amy had arrived.

"High speed air cannon. Lousy way to travel," the Doctor said.

"Where are we?" she asked, still in a bit if shock.

"Six hundred feet down, twenty miles laterally, puts us at the heart of the ship. I'd say," he inhaled through his nose, "Lancashire. What's this then, a cave? Can't be a cave. Looks like a cave."

"I'll go ahead and confirm that it's not a cave," I said.

"It's a rubbish dump," Amy said, tossing a bit of waste aside, "And it's minging!" The pair of them got down on their knees and searched through the garbage.

"Yes, but only food refuse. Organic, coming through feeder tubes from all over the ship," the Doctor added. I didn't dare go sifting through the stuff; I was too disgusted to even move.

"The floor's all squidgy, like a water bed," Amy announced.

"But feeding what, though?" the Doctor asked no one in particular.

"It's sort of rubbery, feel it. Wet and slimy," Amy said, still transfixed by the Star Whale's tongue. A far off sound caught our attention, especially the Doctor's.

"Er, it's not a floor, it's a. So," he trailed off.

"It's a what?" Amy asked, getting to her feet. He was silent for a moment before gesturing to me to come over to where they were standing, which I did.

"The next word is kind of a scary word. You probably want to take a moment, get yourself in a calm place. Go omm," he instructed.

"Omm," we hummed, a bit confusingly.

"It's a tongue," he said gently. Amy was too shocked to register emotion.

"A tongue?" she repeated.

"A tongue. A great big tongue!" he beamed.

"And you're happy about being in a creature's mouth?" I asked.

"This is a mouth. This whole place is a mouth?" Amy asked, then shouted, "We're in a mouth?!"

"Yes, yes, yes. But on the plus side, roomy," the Doctor said, trying to make it sound better than it was.

"Oh, that's really good to know! At least I'll know that I was eaten by something with a really roomy mouth!" I said, sarcasm heavy in my voice.

"How big is this beastie? It's gorgeous!" the Doctor exclaimed, waving his sonic screwdriver around, "Blimey, if this is just the mouth, I'd love to see the stomach," there was a moan, "Though not right now."

"Doctor, how do we get out?" Amy asked, somewhat panicky.

"Okay, it's being fed through surgically implanted feeder tubes, so the normal entrance is," he held the screwdriver up to illuminate a wall of long, sharp teeth, "closed for business."

"My, what big teeth you have," I remarked.

"We could try, though," Amy suggested, but the mouth began to vibrate violently, sending me crashing back into the filth.

"I think you'll find that we can't," I said, "It's started."

"What has?" she asked.

"Swallow reflex!" the Doctor shouted, trying to maintain his footing while sonicing the mouth.

"What are you doing?" Amy asked him.

"I'm vibrating the chemo-receptors!" he yelled back.

"Chemo-what?" she asked, falling into the food.

"The eject button!" he clarified.

"How does a mouth have an eject button?" she asked.

"Think about it!" he shouted. I got to my feet and stood next to him. Suddenly, a tidal wave of vomit came rushing toward the three of us.

"This is really is one of the times I wish it was just a TV show," I deadpanned, steeling myself.

"Right, then. This isn't going to be big on dignity," the Doctor said, taking our hands, "GERONIMO!" Amy screamed, and I kept my mouth shut on fear of getting anything unwanted in my mouth as the wave of sick crashed into us.

I woke up in an overspill pipe with the stench of Star Whale vomit overpowering my senses.

"Did everyone see that? Because I will not be doing it again, and you can't pay me enough money to do it voluntarily," I grumbled, getting to my feet.

"I can assure you that you won't have to do that again, Ginny," the Doctor said from the door, "Are you all right?"

"I'm gonna need about five showers when I get back to the TARDIS, but other than that, peachy keen!" I sarcastically remarked, "You?"

"Considering the scenario, I'd say I'm pretty good," he replied. A stifled cough came from below me; Amy had woken up.

"There's nothing broken, there's no sign of concussion and yes, you are covered in sick," the Doctor answered all the questions she was probably going to ask, except for one or two.

"By the way, we're probably in an overspill pipe, and that odor certainly is not said pipe," I added. She was at a loss for words as I helped her up, but eventually she gave herself a sniff and winced.

"Phew. Can we get out?" she asked.

"One door, one switch, one condition. we forget everything we saw," he said, the Forget button lighting up, "Look familiar? That's the carrot," two Smiler booths lit up a couple feet in front of us, "Ooo, here's the stick. There's a creature living in the heart of this ship. What's it doing there?" the Smilers turned to Frowners, "No, that's not going to work on me, so come on. Big old beast below decks, and everyone who protests gets shoved down its throat. That how it works?" the Frowners switched to Scowlers, "Oh, stop it. I'm not leaving, and I'm not forgetting, and what are you fellas gonna do about it? Stick out your tongues?"

In response, the Scowlers' booths opened up, and they started to walk toward us.

"You just had to egg them on like that, didn't you?" I asked, backing away. Luckily, Liz 10 came from behind and shot the Scowlers to the ground. After holstering her gun, she turned to face the three of us.

"Look who it is. You look a lot better without your mask," the Doctor said. Liz smiled and came forward.

"You must be Amy and Ginny. Liz. Liz Ten," she introduced, holding out a hand to shake.

"Hi," the two of us said, only Amy shook her hand, though. Liz pulled it back on account of the vomit.

"Lovely hair, you two. Shame about the sick," she brought Mandy out from behind her, "You know Mandy, yeah? She's very brave."

"How did you find us?" the Doctor asked Liz. She tossed him a scanner of sorts.

"Stuck my gizmo on you. Been listening in. Nice moves on the hurl escape," she said, "So, what's the big fella doing here?"

"You're over sixteen, you've voted. Whatever this is, you've chosen to forget about it," the Doctor deduced.

"No. Never forgot, never voted, not technically a British subject," Liz replied.

"Then who and what are you, and how do you know me?" he asked.

"You're a bit hard to miss, love. Mysterious stranger, M O consistent with higher alien intelligence, hair of an idiot," Liz said, the Doctor taking offense to the last bit and running a hand through his so called idiotic hair.

"His Tenth self had great hair, if that makes up for anything," I threw in.

"Oi!" the Doctor exclaimed.

"I know. I was brought up on stories. My whole family was," Liz said fondly.

"I was brought up on stories too, but not in the same way," I said, giving a very subtle curtsey that only Liz could see. She smiled and nodded.

"Your family?" he asked. Liz was about to reply when the Scowlers started to twitch.

"They're repairing. Doesn't take them that long. Let's move," Liz said, leading us out of the pipe.

We had gotten out of the pipe and into a more open area of Starship UK when the talking finally started up again.

"The Doctor. Old drinking buddy of Henry Twelve. Tea and scones with Liz Two. Vicky was a bit on the fence about you, weren't she? Knighted and exiled on the same day," Liz recalled, "And so much for the Virgin Queen, you bad, bad boy!" I snickered a bit, recalling the 50th Special with Elizabeth the First.

"Liz Ten!" the Doctor exclaimed, finally bringing everything together.

"Liz Ten, yeah. Elizabeth the Tenth. And down!" she yelled the last bit. We all ducked as she shot a Scowler behind us, "I'm the bloody queen, mate. Basically, I rule."

We entered a corridor with one solid wall and a barred wall with Star Whale tentacles trying to reach out.

"There's a high-speed Vator through here," Liz said, then looked to the tentacles, "Oh, yeah. There's these things. Any ideas?"

"Doctor, I saw one of these up top. There was a hole in the road, like it had burst through, like a root," Amy said. The Doctor soniced the tentacle.

"Exactly like a root. It's all one creature, the same one we were inside, reaching out," he explained.

"What, like an infestation?" Liz asked.

"Not exactly. It's more like it wants to be noticed. It wants to be recognized," I replied.

"Someone's helping it. Feeding it. Feeding my subjects to it! Come on. Got to keep moving," Liz said, walking briskly away with Mandy.

"Doctor?" Amy called.

"Oh Amy," the Doctor said, still looking at the tentacles, "We should never have come here." The two of them left, leaving me alone with the Star Whale.

I was probably out of my mind, but for some reason I reached out to the Star Whale tentacle.

"Okay, I'm gonna need you to calm down. I'm on your side. I want to help you," I soothed, eventually managing to get the Star Whale to trust me enough to where it would let me pet it, "I'm sorry about what they're doing to you. Don't worry, though. It'll be over soon. Just hold on." I stayed there for a minute, petting the Star Whale when the Doctor called for me.

"Parks, are you still down there?" he shouted.

"Yeah. I'm coming!" I called back, taking my hand away from the Star Whale, "Everything is going to be okay."


	4. The Beast Below - Part Three

The Beast Below - Part Three

By the time we had gotten to Liz's chambers, we were dry for the most part. My hair was a bit damp so I decided to pull it into a pony tail, but Amy insisted on braiding it. The Doctor was taking cautious steps through the different glasses of water on the floor.

"Why all the glasses?" he asked.

"To remind me every single day that my government is up to something, and it's my duty to find out what," Liz replied.

The Doctor held the mask up to get a better look at it, "A queen going undercover to investigate her own kingdom?"

"Secrets are being kept from me. I don't have a choice. Ten years I've been at this. My entire reign. And you've achieved more in one afternoon," she said.

"Liz, how old were you when you came to the throne?" I asked, leaning against the doorway.

"Forty. Why?" she asked. Amy turned away from a mirror and continued to put her hair in a bun.

"What, you're fifty now? No way," Amy said, obviously surprised.

"Yeah, they slowed my body clock. Keeps me looking like the stamps," Liz replied.

"And you always wear this in public?" the Doctor asked, still looking at the mask.

"Undercover's not easy when you're me. The autographs, the bunting," Liz informed.

"I can imagine," I added.

"Air-balanced porcelain. Stays on by itself because it's perfectly sculpted to your face," he mused, holding the mask up to Liz's face.

"Yeah? So what?" she asked.

"Oh, Liz. So everything," he replied.

Suddenly, a couple of Winders came through the doorway, causing me to move out and over to the rest of the group. The Doctor stood from his spot on the bed and walked next to where I was standing.

"What are you doing here? How dare you come in here?" Liz demanded.

"Ma'am, you have expressed interest in the interior workings of Starship UK," the lead Winder said, "You'll come with us now."

"Why would I do that?" Liz asked. In response, the Winders head turned to reveal a Scowler's face.

"Good reason," I said.

"How can they be Smilers?" Amy asked.

"Half Smiler, half human," the Doctor answered.

Liz stared directly at the lead Winder/Smiler, "Whatever you creatures are, I am still your queen. On whose authority is this done?"

"The highest authority, Ma'am," the Winder said.

"I am the highest authority!" Liz repeated.

"Yes Ma'am. You must go now, Ma'am," the Winder ordered.

"Where?" Liz asked.

"The Tower, Ma'am," the Winder responded.

With that, we were escorted out of Liz's chambers and down into the depths of Starship UK. The Winders led the way down several staircases and eventually through a doorway into the lowest point of the ship. The first thing that caught my eye was the menacing looking device sending jolts of electricity into the Star Whale's brain. So, while everyone was crowded around the grating where tentacles were trying to break free, I ran to the brain.

"You poor thing. I'm so sorry," I accidentally said aloud, but luckily no one heard me.

"Doctor, where are we?" Amy asked.

"The lowest point of Starship UK," he spun around, "The dungeon."

"Ma'am," a new voice made itself known as an older man dressed as a Winder.

"Hawthorne. So this is where you hid yourself away," Liz said, "I think you've got some explaining to do."

A line of children carrying bits of metal came through and started to go out the doorway.

"There's children down here. What's all that about?" the Doctor asked.

"Protesters and citizens of limited value are fed to the beast. For some reason, it won't eat the children," Hawthorne explained, "You're the first adults it's spared. You're very lucky."

"Oh yeah, really lucky. We were upchucked by a beast first, and now we're in the Torture Chamber of the Tower of London. Really lucky indeed!" I sarcastically remarked.

"Except it isn't a torture chamber, Ginny, is it? Well, except it is. Except it isn't. Depends on your angle," the Doctor rambled, walking over to join me near the brain.

"What's that?" Liz asked, also looking at the brain.

"Well, like I say, it depends on your angle. It's either the exposed pain center of big fella's brain, being tortured relentlessly," the Doctor began.

"Or?" Liz asked.

"Or it's the gas pedal, the accelerator. Starship UK's go faster button," he finished.

"I don't understand," Liz said.

"Don't you? Try to. Go on. The spaceship that could never fly. No vibration on deck. This creature, this poor, trapped, terrified creature. It's not infesting you, it's not invading, it's what you have instead of an engine. And this place down here is where you hurt it, where you torture it, day after day, just to keep it moving," he ranted, obviously angry, "Tell you what. Normally it's above the range of human hearing," he moved over to the grating, removed it, letting a tentacle pop up, and held up his sonic screwdriver, "This is the sound none of you wanted to hear."

As he soniced the tentacle, a blood-curdling scream resounded throughout the room. It was the scream of a creature that was scared, in torment, and just wondering what it had ever done to deserve this, and it was almost unbearable to listen to.

"Doctor, you can stop now," I pleaded, looking right at him. He stopped sonicing the tentacle and looked back to me.

"Who did this?" Liz asked.

"We act on instructions from the highest authority," Hawthorne replied.

"I am the highest authority!" Liz nearly yelled, "The creature will be released, now," no one did anything, "I said now!"

"Liz. Your mask," the Doctor said, holding the mask up.

"What about my mask?" she asked.

"Look at it," he tossed it to her, "It's old. At least two hundred years old, I'd say."

"Yeah? It's an antique. So?" she asked.

"So, if it was an antique, then how come it perfectly fits your face?" I said, "They certainly did slow your body clock, but you aren't fifty. You're actually three hundred years old."

She looked at me in disbelief, "Nah, it's ten years. I've been on this throne ten years."

"Ten years. And the same ten years, over and over again, always leading you," the Doctor took Liz's hand and brought her to a screen with a Forget and Abdicate button, "here." After glancing over the buttons, Liz looked to Hawthorne.

"What have you done?" she asked him.

"Only what you have ordered," he answered, "We work for you, Ma'am. The Winders, the Smilers, all of us." He then turned the screen on to reveal Liz's face.

"If you are watching this. If I am watching this, then I have found my way to the Tower of London," the image changed to a diagram of a Star Whale, "The creature you are looking at is called a Star Whale. Once, there were millions of them. They lived in the depths of space and, according to legend, guided the early space travelers through the asteroid belts. This one, as far as we are aware, is the last of its kind. And what we've done to it breaks my heart."

"The Earth was burning. Our sun had turned on us and every other nation had fled to the skies. Our children screamed as the skies grew hotter. And then it came, like a miracle. The last of the Star Whales. We trapped it, we built our ship around it, and rode on its back to safety. If you wish our voyage to continue, then you must press the Forget button. Be again the heart of this nation, untainted. If not, press the other button. Your reign will end, the Star Whale will be released, and our ship will disintegrate. I hope I keep the strength to make the right decision."

The video ended, leaving us in a sad sort of shocked silence for a minute.

"I voted for this. Why would I do that?" Amy asked.

"Because you knew if we stayed here, I'd be faced with an impossible choice. Humanity or the alien. You took it upon yourself to save me from that. And that was wrong," the Doctor said, then turned to face me with a look of disappointment mixed with anger in his eyes, "And you knew what would happen from the moment we landed here. You didn't even bother to tell me. If you call yourself a fan of me, then why didn't you prevent us coming here?"

I was stunned silent for the longest time, and the fact that the Doctor kept staring at me didn't help. Eventually, I managed to find the right words.

"One of the things I learned from watching you was that foreknowledge is a very dangerous thing. I didn't say anything to you because these things must happen to keep the future right. I didn't want to cause a paradox or something worse," I said meekly, like a student who had been called out by the teacher for something they did.

"You didn't say anything. That's what counts," he said, "You don't ever decide what I need to know, Virginia Parks."

"I can't tell you about your future. That would break the laws of time," I argued.

"Oh, I don't care," he said.

"You should care! You're not the Time Lord Victorious any more. You're the Doctor!" I was yelling at him now, "You're never cruel or cowardly. You never give up and you never give in. Doesn't that promise mean anything to you any more?"

I hadn't realized how far I had gone until after I said it, and I regretted it immediately. The Doctor looked positively outraged from my remarks; not as angry as the Oncoming Storm, but still pretty close. He glared at me as I slowly walked backwards away from him, and he also kept walking towards me until I was up against a wall. At that point I was crouched down, trembling slightly on the ground, looking up to see that he was still glowering at me.

"You're a hypocrite, Virginia Parks. You have the nerve to call yourself a fan of mine, but when given the opportunity to change the way things are, you don't take it. I should've never invited you to stay," he said, obviously trying to keep his anger bottled up, "You embarrass and repel me. When we're done here, you're going back to Earth. And don't tell me that you don't have a family because I don't care. Now get out of my sight."

I think I actually heard my heart break in that instance. To hear those things come from the Doctor's mouth and said towards me left me devastated. Not being able to react at all, I found myself just staring at him, tears forming in my eyes and starting to run down my cheeks. I slowly rose to my feet, walked away from the Doctor without making eye contact, and continued to walk silently until I was out the doorway. From there I ran as fast as my legs could take me up into London Market and right to the TARDIS. It was locked, so I sat down behind it, buried my face in my hands and just cried silently.

The people who said that you should never meet your heroes were right. The Doctor was nothing like the man I saw on television. That man was kinder, more lighthearted, and would probably never say those things to an admirer. Then again, I can't be sure about that.

After the longest time, I heard the sound of the Star Whale roaring, followed by a series of violent tremors. The people in the market panicked as merchandise on vendors fell and lights flickered. Then, after perhaps a minute, it all stopped. The Star Whale was free, and everything remained functioning on Starship UK.

"Amelia Pond, you are magnificent," I cheered, getting up and walking away from the TARDIS and towards a gigantic window looking out at the rest of the Starship and all the stars outside of it.

I sat on a bench alone, gazing out at the deep space in front of me, when the tears began to fall again. Does the Doctor still mean what he said to me? I really don't want to be stranded on a parallel world all alone with no one I know to talk to. I'd be terrified on my own. These thoughts were put on hold for a minute when the voice I was longing and dreading to hear made itself known.

"Ginny!" the Doctor called, followed by a series of hurried footsteps. When he reached the bench I was sitting at, I suppose I let my emotions get the better of me. I stood straight up, raised my hand and actually slapped him across the face.

"Do you have any idea what it was like for me to hear those things coming from you?" I asked while he rubbed his already red cheek, "Well, do you?!"

"No, but I know I did deserve that slap," he said, "And I also know that I don't deserve to be forgiven for the things I said, but I want you to know that I am deeply sorry about it and I really do regret ever saying it," he took my hand in his, "You see, the truth is, Ginny Parks, you're an incredible human being. You have the guts to stand up for what you believe in when most people will just go with the flow. You're not a hypocrite, and I most certainly am not going to make you leave the TARDIS. Understand?"

I didn't say a word in response. I simply threw my arms around him in a hug which he returned to my pleasant surprise.

"I take it I'm forgiven?" he asked.

"Of course you're forgiven, you bow tie wearing buffoon," I said, laughing a bit. We stayed like that for a few minutes until Amy entered with Liz's mask in her hand. She stopped a couple of feet away.

"You two made up, then?" she asked, causing us to break apart. I laughed again and pointed to Amy.

"You are absolutely magnificent. You know that?" I said.

"I think so," she replied, laughing a bit.

"Good. Because it's the truth," I said, "Shall we return to the TARDIS?"

"We shall," the Doctor said, and together we walked back into London Market.

"Shouldn't we say goodbye? Won't they wonder where we went?" Amy asked.

"The rest of their lives. Oh, the songs they'll write. Never mind them. Big day tomorrow," the Doctor said, taking out the TARDIS key.

"Sorry what?" Amy asked.

"It's always a big day tomorrow. He skips the little ones," I clarified, "Doctor, I am positively exhausted from the day's events. Would you mind if I went in early?"

"Not at all, Parks," he said, opening the door for me, "I haven't had the time to make your bedrooms, so will you be okay with spending the night in a spare room?"

"It'll be fine," I said, then closed the door behind me. In truth, I was surprised I had managed to stay awake for this long. When I arrived, the trip sort of sapped me of some of my energy, and now with going on my first adventure out of the way, I was more than ready for a good rest.

The spare room the TARDIS led me to was very simple. The walls were a sort of pastel green, the floor was carpeted, and the queen sized bed had white sheets and a green duvet. There was a spaghetti strapped, knee-length, TARDIS blue cotton nightgown on the bed, which I changed into. Pulling the covers over my body, I thought of one more thing before turning in for the night.

This marks the beginning of a wonderfully mad journey.


	5. Victory of the Daleks - Part One

Victory of the Daleks - Part One

The rest I got on the TARDIS was some of the best rest I had gotten in years. It was the wake-up call that could've been better. From out of nowhere, the lights flashed on and a pillow collided with my head.

"Good morning!" the Doctor greeted, far too cheerful for my liking at the time; I made my position clear by throwing the pillow right back at him, hitting him square in the face, "Someone's obviously not a morning person, then. Anyways, get dressed. We've got a big day ahead of us." With that, the excitable Time Lord left the room, giving me the opportunity to rise from the bed and head straight to the bathroom. I forgot about the crying need I had for a shower last night.

Once I was no longer smelling like Star Whale breath, I was surprised to find a change of clothes already sitting on the bathroom counter, next to some makeup and a hairdryer. The outfit in question ended up being black skinny jeans, a white blouse with black buttons, a blue scarf, black boots similar to the Doctor's, and an overcoat that screamed, "BBC's Sherlock Holmes." This, paired with the blue scarf and the fact that my hair was loosely curled made me feel like a consulting detective, and I liked it.

I left the room and decided to start looking for the kitchen, which I found quite easily to be honest. From there, I poured a bowl of Cinnamon Toast Crunch for breakfast and thought over what would happen this adventure. It would be the London Blitz with Daleks, that much was certain. But which scenario should I enter? I could go up into that Dalek ship with the Doctor, but that would be highly unlikely considering the fact that he'd insist on me staying in London. But I am and always have been overpoweringly stubborn, so that asset might change the way things go.

My mind was set, my cereal had been eaten, and I was ready for some Science Fiction goodness, so I practically ran into the control room to find the Doctor and Amy nowhere to be seen.

"Anybody in here?" I called out. No answer. I walked toward the door, opened it cautiously and found myself in a Cabinet War Rooms filing closet. The Doctor, Amy, and Churchill were nowhere to be seen.

"Guys? You out here?" I called out again, then stepped out of the doorway. I walked up the stairs and into a bustling hallway, different workers walking briskly left and right carrying papers or bits of metal. I decided to blend in as best I could and walk in the direction I hoped the Doctor and Amy went down.

As it turns out, my blending in did not go exactly according to plan. Within five minutes, I had been met with the barrel of a rifle being pointed at me by a soldier, as well as plenty of people staring at me. My hands shot up into the air as I scrambled to find something to tell this soldier in order for him to point his gun elsewhere.

"I'm with the Doctor. We were called in by Prime Minister Churchill himself," I said in a hurry, "Now, if you please, stop pointing your gun at me. You're making me rather nervous."

"At ease, soldier. She's with me," the Doctor instructed, coming up from behind me. The soldier obeyed, apologized for his actions, and left. I then turned to the Doctor and Amy, who were currently flanking Winston Churchill himself.

"You left without me," I accused, waving a finger in the Time Lord's face, "And there has to be a better way to wake a person up."

"Well you were taking too long," he retorted, "By the way, where's the deerstalker, Sherlock?"

"Left it with the riding crop. I didn't want to wear that death frisbee out in public," I said, then turned back to Churchill, "Ginny Parks, by the way. It's an honor to meet you, Mr Churchill."

We shook hands, and Winston proceeded to lead us into an elevator which he sent upwards. He puffed a bit of smoke from his cigar, which the Doctor waved away from his face.

"We stand at a crossroads, Doctor, quite alone, with our backs to the wall. Invasion is expected daily. So I will grasp with both hands anything that will give us an advantage over the Nazi menace," Winston explained. The Doctor looked to Amy and me, then back to Winston.

"Such as?" he asked. The elevator stopped and we all got out.

"Follow me," the Prime Minister instructed.

We were led out onto the roof of the Cabinet War Rooms. Soldiers stood watch at different intervals along the roof, sandbags lined the edges along with two forts on a higher part of the roof. A man in a white lab coat was searching the skies for German bombers with a pair of binoculars.

"Doctor, this is Professor Edwin Bracewell. Head of our Ironsides Project," Churchill announced.

"How do you do?" Bracewell called down to us.

"Very well, thank you!" I replied. The three of us turned to face the view of London. In the distance, a bomb fell causing a loud bang and a flash of orange light. Barrage balloons tied down by ropes dotted the skies, causing me to recall "The Empty Child" when Rose was dangling from one of them.

"Oh, Doctor. Doctor, it's," Amy trailed off.

"History," he finished.

"Ready Bracewell?" Churchill asked.

"Aye aye, sir," he replied, "On my order, fire!" Right as Bracewell said "Fire!", a flurry of energy bolts flew from one of the sandbag forts, taking out a whole line of Nazi planes. If I didn't already know what was standing in that fort, I would've been impressed.

"What was that?" Amy asked, dumbfounded.

"That wasn't human. That was never human technology. That sounded like," the Doctor trailed off, too shocked to keep going on, "Show me. Show me! Show me what that was!" He took off up the ladder and towards the sandbag fortress.

"Advance," Bracewell instructed what was behind the fort.

"Our new secret weapon!" Churchill exclaimed, as an army green Dalek rolled out into the open, "What do you think? Quite something, eh?"

"Ginny, what is that?" Amy asked me. I took a deep breath and turned to face her.

"It's the Doctor's worst enemy," I said, "It's a Dalek."

"I am your soldier," the Dalek said, its voice loud enough for us to hear.

"What?" the Doctor asked it.

"I am your soldier," it repeated.

"Stop this. Stop now," he ordered, "Now you know who I am. You always know."

"Perhaps I can clarify things here," Bracewell said, "This is one of my Ironsides."

"Your what?" the Time Lord asked.

"You will help the Allied cause in any way that you can," Bracewell said to the Dalek, as if it had been rehearsed.

"Yes," it replied.

"Until the Germans have been utterly smashed," he said.

"Yes," it repeated.

"And what is your ultimate aim?" he asked.

"To win the war!" it exclaimed.

The elevator ride back into the war rooms was host to a very awkward and almost shocked silence. The Doctor just leaned against the elevator with this sort of look of look that said, "I knew they'd arrive at some point, but I didn't think it would be here." Neither I nor Amy said a word, which was very unlike us. Well, not unlike me; I'm a quiet person by nature. It wasn't until we reached Churchill's office and saw the blueprints and possible propaganda posters for the Daleks we started talking again.

"They're Daleks. They're called Daleks," the Doctor said, flipping through some blueprints.

"They are Bracewell's Ironsides, Doctor. Look. Blueprints, statistics, field tests, photographs. He invented them," Winston corrected.

"Invented them?" the Doctor asked, almost sounding amused by the thought, "Oh, no, no, no."

"Yes. He approached one of our brass hats a few months ago. Fellow's a genius," Winston said.

"A Scottish genius too," Amy added, throwing her opinion into the hex, "Maybe you should listen to..." She would've continued if the Doctor hadn't shushed her.

"He didn't invent them," he said, "They're alien."

"Alien?" Winston repeated, as if he wasn't familiar with the concept. Right on cue as it would seem, one of the Daleks rolled down the hallway, allowing us to see it through the open doorway.

"And totally hostile," the Doctor finished once it was out of sight.

"Precisely. They will win me the war," Winston replied, revealing a propaganda poster with a Dalek and the words, "To Victory!" written across the top.

We were now walking back towards the main part of the War Rooms rather quickly. I could barely keep up on simply walking, so I found myself moving in a semi-jogging fashion.

"Why won't you listen to me? Why did you call me in if you won't listen to me?" the Doctor asked.

"When I rang you a month ago, I must admit I had my doubts," Churchill responded, "The Ironsides seemed too good to be true."

"Yes. Right. So destroy them. Exterminate them," the Doctor suggested earnestly.

"That's rich coming from you, of all people," I commented.

"Not really the right time for jokes," he said. I raised my hands in a defensive position.

"Sorry, but I'm just trying to get my opinion in," I said, "I didn't mean to strike a nerve."

"But imagine what I could do with a hundred. A thousand," Churchill proposed.

"We are imagining," the Doctor and I said simultaneously. Winston went into the main room and left us in the hallway.

"Do you two practice that?" Amy asked us.

"No," we said together, then looked at each other weirdly, and then looked back to Amy.

"It just sort of happens," I admitted.

"Would one of you tell him?" the Doctor asked.

"Tell him what?" Amy asked in return.

"About the Daleks," he replied.

"What would I know about the Daleks?" she asked.

"Everything. They invaded your world, remember? Planets in the sky. You don't forget that," he said, "Amy, tell me you remember the Daleks."

"No, sorry," Amy said after a moment's hesitation. The Doctor looked at her for a minute.

"That's not possible," he finally said before going into the main room himself. Amy and I followed the Doctor until we stopped and leaned against a wall.

"So they're up to something. But what is it? What are they after?" the Doctor asked, thinking aloud.

"Well, let's just ask, shall we?" Amy suggested, approaching a nearby Ironside.

"Amy. Amelia!" he called before she tapped on its shoulder, or wherever a shoulder would be if it had one. The Ironside turned and angled its eyestalk up to her.

"Can I be of assistance?" it asked.

"Oh. Yes, yes. See, my friend reckons you're dangerous," she told it, "That you're an alien. Is it true?"

"I am your soldier," it replied.

"Yeah. Got that bit. Love a squaddie. What else, though?" Amy asked.

"Please excuse me. I have duties to preform," the Ironside said, turning and wheeling in the opposite direction. The Doctor stood and walked over to Churchill just as Amy rejoined me at the wall.

"You know, whether their genocidal alien monsters or not, you'd think that the Daleks would be less rude," I mused.

"No kidding," she replied, laughing a bit before sobering again, "What did the Doctor mean when he said it wasn't possible for me to forget the Daleks?"

"The Doctor's probably gonna kill me for telling you this, but here goes nothing," I started, "So, in 2008, the Daleks stole the Earth along with twenty-six other planets and took most of the human race as prisoners. The leader of the Daleks, Davros, was going to use the twenty-seven planets as some way to power up a Reality Bomb. This would've destroyed all reality in all the known universes, but luckily the Doctor managed to stop Davros."

"Wow, that's pretty bad. Wonder why I don't remember it," she said. The All Clear sounded to everyone's pleasure, which signaled Amy and me to get off the wall and walk over to the Doctor.

"Doctor, it's the All Clear," Amy told him, "You okay?"

"What does hate look like, you two?" he asked us, clutching someone's hat.

"Hate?" Amy asked in reply.

"It looks like a Dalek. And I'm going to prove it," he said, slamming the hat down on a desk before striding past an Ironside and down the hallway, the two of us following far behind.


End file.
